Holiday cottage not up to standard

[noyouhavehadawee]

We went on holiday and stayed in a cottage - we paid £650 for the week and it was really unclean/ unkept - we had to run everything through the dishwasher before using anything , ornaments were chipped (dangerously to passing toddlers) , the dirt and filth in the bathroom and everywhere else really was grim, spiders, cobwebs, grime along bath, dirty bog brushes wardrobes unuseable as smelt awful and also had bits all over floor in wardrobe. Had an ant infestation outside door which travelled into the kitchen but we eraddicated them on first day havig rang the company they didnt sort it we did. Rug had dog hairs on it and when tried to hoover up the hoover was broke hence probs half the problem! If you wrote to the company and attached numerous photos of grunge and the likes to an independant hire company would you expect just a ooops sorry or soem compo and if so how much? I thank you for reading this..... I am not a serial moaner just we paid a lot and saved hard for this one week and ended up spending more because i couldnt bring myself to cook in it!

I think the question is - did you try to contact the owners/managers to let them know of the problems and give them a chance to put it right?

I think it is worth a well-written complaint letter. Don't go overboard, just list the problems and say what this meant for your holiday.

Be specific about what you want in return - a partial refund? Or, they may just offer you a 'free' stay in the same cottage!

On the day we arrived we rang them as the boiler wasnt on, i asked if someeon could come out and fix it and also the ant infestation which lady said she would and had a cleaner been? A man rang back and talked through boiler which we got lit and knowone ever turned up about the rest and we got on with our holiday as dh was worried they would come and clean the loo with his toothbrush. They have offered 10% off to stay again in same one next year which we obviously dont want to do ever and have suggested a partial refund instead.

They have now offered £100 - do i hold out for more?

Must say I would be tempted to hold out for more - a full refund wouldn't go amiss in fact! Presumably the company didn't have an alternative property to move you to when you first rang? that's what they'd normally try to do I think. I'm very surprised that they didn't send a cleaner or come up with a working hoover.

I'd ask for at least 50% back, with a threat to go to Trading Standards if you don't get it. (did you take any pictures?)

oh sorry, just seen that you've sent them photos!

They know you've got a case then & are trying to fob you off. ask for 50% plus half the cost of your meals out.

They kind of insinuate we didnt mention the problems initially which ok we ddint make big demands and fuss but we did let it know then dh just took pics all week tro build up his "case". He has emailed back and said amongst other things " I don?t think £100 compensation comes close to what I should receive, I was expecting at least half the cost refunded. If this is all you have to offer I will accept it and then write to the owner of the cottage to see if they will refund me further. I saved up all year to bring my family on holiday, I did expect better, much better. Would you be happy staying in that accommodation?. They have responded to this saying "We are willing to offer £100 total. If you would like us to transfer this amount back to your card we will do this today for you.". Dont kwo what to do now as am a bit crapola at this......... should i ring and speak to the manager?

Need to nip out now will come back to this in a couple of hours so look forward to some advise as dh has now handed over control ....

Write them up on trip advisor and name and shame them on here.

Have you got travel insurance that might cover this?

Are they part of a group-ABTA or the like? Ask them what their complaints procedure is, also did you sign an inventory or anything like that?

Good job you have the pictures, have a look the CAB website see if there is further guidance there.

£650 sounds very cheap for a cottage in the summer...where was it?

But just because it was cheap doesn't mean it should be dirty!

Yes, ring and speak to the manager...say how unhappy you are, how you will never use this company again, and how you will advise others not to do so.

\link{http://www.consumerrightsexpert.co.uk/holiday-lets-contract-with-owner-agent.html\consumer rights website} on who your contract is with & how to deal with complaints (says it's actually the owner's responsibility)

\link{http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/consumer-advice.cfm\trading standards homepage}

I found this on one of their local sections:

Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982:
This law sets out the general duties and responsibilities of a seller providing a service. You are entitled to expect that the holiday is of a reasonable standard, as described, and that the holiday organiser provides the service with 'reasonable care and skill'

Just got in and dh beat me to it... he has responded
"Yes please add it to my bank today, I will post off a disk with the photo?s on and an explanation to the cottage owner as soon as I am home from work. Hopefully they will make up a short fall to add up to 50% of the holiday cost.

Thanks"

I doubt they will think him serious but he is hes like a dog with a bone sometimes! It was in wells next sea and im not going to name and shame just yet you know in case they want to sue me lol!

wells is lovely btw ....

if you wanted more, you shouldn't have accepted the £100. I wouldn't be surprised if the owners say that you accepted the compensation and that's it.

oh dear - soupy's right, accepting the £100 weakens your position a lot.

Oh well, we still had a great holiday and dh will contact the owner regardless as she should know the company are letting her down. You cant force them to give you money back and i couldnt be so cheeky in a conversation tbh.

Interesting that it is in Wells next the sea, because when we were looking for holiday accommodation in North Norfolk we found that a lot of it was very pricey for what it was, with a lot of extras like having to pay for towels etc. We are not new to renting holiday cottages and have stayed in the Cotswolds and other popular areas.

We eventually found somewhere nice, but had to take our own rubbish home with us because the owner had not paid for the rubbish collection service in the development where the cottage was situated.

Obviously it is a very popular area - maybe that means that some owners feel they can let standards slip?

was it the owner or the agent who was responsible for cleaning etc? I thought normally it was the owner.

The rental company go out and clean for the next occupants. It is a very popular area and the company have loads of cottages in the area as well which is a shame as i would go again just not via them. They were very efficient at the pre booking and preparation to holiday stage just let down with the standard. It was on the main freeman street.

oh, OK - then I doubt you'll get anything more from the owner than perhaps a token of appreciation for letting her know (but you might get lucky!)

It is a shame, I agree - bad enough to have left the house in that state but worse not to then come round & put it all right.

I know i spoke to the neighbour when we were staying there - just chit chat and he knew the lady who owns it and said he keeps her mail for her etc so going to send a letter via him just so she knows really her property is getting left in disrepair. He seemed nice so hopefully will pass it on for us. I am going to go search for next yrs holiday now.......

oh dear .... and there I was looking for a clean single room somewhere in Wells for two nights this summer. In your search, did you find anyone who actually lets rooms in their own home.... sometimes that might be better.